28 Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes for a Plant-Based Feast

Autumnal apples, beets, squash, and sweet potatoes shine in these recipes for vegan Thanksgiving salads, sides, entrées, and desserts.

By

Food & Wine Editors

Updated on October 17, 2023

Nutty Baklava Pie — Photo: Photo: Victor Protasio / Food Stylist Torie Cox / Prop Stylist Claire Spollen

Seasonal vegetables like squash, beets, and mushrooms are key to making vegan-friendly dishes that are festive for Thanksgiving. Add quinoa, nuts, and beans (like chickpeas or lentils) to create satisfying entrées that everyone at the table will want to try. From an inventive creamless creamed corn with mushrooms and lemon to delicious plant-based pimiento cheese and flambéed apple pie, these are our best vegan Thanksgiving recipes to feast on.

01 of 28

Roasted Beet Salad with Horseradish-Cashew Cream

Candied Beet Salad with Horseradish Cashew Cream — Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis

Using a variety of beets, such as red, golden, or Chioggia, adds stunning color to this vibrant salad. The beets are cut into wedges and then roasted with garlic and fresh rosemary, which intensifies their earthy sweetness. Nutty and crunchy, the flax, chia, and poppy seed crisps stand in for croutons; soaked and pureed cashews serve as the creamy base of the vegan horseradish sauce that ties the salad together.

02 of 28

Vegan Pimiento Cheese

Vegan pimento cheese, served with fried saltine crackers and pickles green tomatoes — Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Pimiento cheese is an iconic snack in the South, and beloved all over. For this vegan version, sweet pimientos stud a creamy and savory base made with extra-firm tofu. The pickle brine and apple cider vinegar lend an acidic brightness to the mixture, while nutritional yeast and miso provide deep umami notes that keep you coming back for more.

03 of 28

Owamni Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Chile Crisp

Owamni Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Chile Crisp — Heami Lee / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

Maple sugar lends complex sweetness to chef Sean Sherman's mouthwatering chile crisp, which he drizzles over roasted sweet potatoes. Seek out the freshest sweet potatoes you can find; roasting time varies with variety and size.

04 of 28

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Onions with Mushroom Lardons

Brussels sprouts with onions and mushroom lardons — David Malosh

A duo of alliums — shallots and pearl onions — become irresistibly sweet when roasted, making them a great match for slightly bitter brussels sprouts. Bacon, the usual star in recipes like this, is replaced with lardons made from king oyster mushrooms for a satisfying side dish that everyone will enjoy.

05 of 28

Wild Rice with Mushrooms, Cranberries, and Chestnuts

Wild Rice with Mushrooms, Cranberries, and Chestnuts Recipe — Marcus Nilsson

With just enough cranberries in each bite to balance out the earthiness in the rice blend and mushrooms, this rice salad can be served warm or at room temperature. Sub the chicken broth with vegetable broth to make it completely plant-based.

06 of 28

Persimmons, Pomegranate, and Purslane with Pepitas

Persimmons, Pomegranate, and Purslane with Pepitas — Victor Protasio

Suzanne Goin, the chef at the famed Lucques in Los Angeles, marked 20 years of business in 2018 with a dinner that celebrated her now-classic blend of French cuisine and California produce. Goin refers to this salad as “The 4 Ps” and thinks of it as a persimmon salad with an arugula garnish, rather than the other way around.

07 of 28

Roasted Spiced Cranberry Pie

Roasted Spiced Cranberry Pie — Photo: Victor Protasio / Food Stylist Torie Cox / Prop Stylist Claire Spollen

Tart cranberries are roasted with lemongrass and gochugaru (Korean chile flakes) to give this vibrant pie its fruity and fragrant kick. It's pictured here with a meringue crust, but you can use your favorite vegan crust instead.

08 of 28

Tempered Curry-Ginger Sweet Potatoes

Tempered Sweet Potatoes Recipe — Antonis Achilleos

"Tempering is one of the most valuable tenets of Sri Lankan cooking I learned from my mother," writes chef Sam Fore. "Whole spices, like cumin and mustard seeds, get a quick swirl in hot oil, toasting them just enough to impart big flavor in minimal time. These tempered sweet potatoes illustrate how transformative the technique is."

09 of 28

Skillet Apple-Ginger Crisp

Skillet Apple Ginger Crisp Recipe — Antonis Achilleos

Cookbook author Susan Spungen's apple crisp gets a zingy, bright flavor from candied ginger in the topping, and it's pretty easy to riff on — swap in different apples if you don't have Granny Smith, or try it with pears. To make it vegan, you'll need to use plant-based butter and serve it with nondairy ice cream.

10 of 28

Apple Flambé Pie

Apple FlambÃ© Pie — Photo: Victor Protasio / Food Stylist Torie Cox /Prop Stylist Claire Spollen

Apple cider joins forces with fresh and dried apples in this stovetop apple pie filling. The pie is topped with flaming apple brandy just before serving.

11 of 28

Nutty Baklava Pie

Nutty Baklava Pie — Photo: Victor Protasio / Food Stylist Torie Cox / Prop Stylist Claire Spollen

This pie combines the best aspects of pecan pie and baklava. It's topped with crispy phyllo bursts for a bit of festive flair.

12 of 28

Miznon's Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Mizono's Whole Roasted Cauliflower — Greg DuPree

In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best: The cauliflower served at Miznon in New York City calls for the best quality ingredients, each essential for creating the dish. Fresh cauliflower with tight, closed florets surrounded by a crown of crisp leaves; sel gris (coarse gray sea salt), which packs a mineral flavor in each of its crunchy grains; and spicy, fruity extra-virgin olive oil.

13 of 28

Enmoladas de Calabaza

Enmoladas de Calabaza — Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell

Enmoladas are essentially enchiladas given the mole treatment, and this recipe is the ultimate version. Lightly fried tortillas are generously stuffed with tender strands of spaghetti squash and then covered in a concentrated kabocha squash mole. The mole is seasoned with dried chiles and five-spice powder, which lend a delicate smokiness to the savory sauce. Swap out the crema for coconut yogurt to keep the dish vegan.

14 of 28

Roasted Beets and Charred Green Beans

Roasted Beets and Charred Green Beans — Eva Kolenko

Top Chef winner Kristen Kish pairs roasted beets and cast-iron-charred haricots verts with vinegar and hearty herbs (oregano and thyme) to make this salad. It's an homage to the jarred pickled beets and green bean salad she ate as a kid.

15 of 28

Roasted Carrot and Red Quinoa Salad

Roasted Carrot and Red Quinoa Salad — © Eric Wolfinger

Flavors of cumin, coriander, and cardamom along with cranberries and lemon zest punch up this plant-based salad, while toasted walnuts and quinoa provide ample amounts of protein.

16 of 28

Gluten-Free Winter Squash Gnocchi

Gluten-Free Winter Squash Gnocchi — © Anya Kassoff

These gnocchi are fun and easy to make. Expect a subtly sweet squash flavor with hints of fresh sage, complete with a delightful pillowy texture. No need for eggs here; squash puree and nutritious buckwheat flour partner well together, allowing for just the right soft structure. The gnocchi are gluten-free and can be vegan if coconut oil or vegan butter are substituted for the ghee.

17 of 28

Quinoa Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Quinoa Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Apples — © Christina Holmes

This delicious plant-based fall salad is a great meal-in-one; it makes an ideal vegan option at the Thanksgiving table.

18 of 28

Curried Spaghetti Squash and Chickpea Toasts

Curried Spaghetti-Squash-and-Chickpea Toasts. Photo © David Malosh — © David Malosh

Spaghetti squash gets its name because once it's cooked, you can use a fork to pull the flesh into long, thin strands. Chef Jonathon Sawyer makes his own curry and cooks his own chickpeas for this vegetarian dish, but our simplified recipe calls for store-bought curry paste and canned chickpeas.

19 of 28

Creamless Creamed Corn with Mushrooms and Lemon

Creamless Creamed Corn with Mushrooms and Lemon — © Frances Janisch

"My granny taught me that when corn is very fresh, the juices are naturally creamy," chef Kevin Gillespie says. "I took that as the gospel." He grates half of the corn here to make a luxurious puree that thickens without cream. Kevin's tip: Scraping corn cobs with the dull side of a knife removes the juices.

20 of 28

Mixed Mushroom Ragout

Mixed Mushroom Ragout — © David Malosh

Chef Stephanie Izard's rich, chunky mushroom ragout is great on everything from polenta to pasta. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock for a terrific vegan sauce.

21 of 28

Warm Lentil and Root Vegetable Salad with Coconut Tzatziki

Warm Lentil and Root Vegetable Salad with Coconut Tzatziki — © Michael Turek

Hearty root vegetables and lentils make this warm salad from Sakara Life the perfect vegan main dish. It's paired with a pleasantly sweet and tangy coconut yogurt tzatziki to round it all out.

22 of 28

Pumpkin Soup with Fideos

Pumpkin Soup with Fideos — © Christina Holmes

This soup is based on a Sephardic (Spanish-Jewish) recipe. Though the dish is vegetarian, cooking the pumpkin with cinnamon and cloves gives the broth an “implied meatiness,” says chef Michael Solomonov. Toasted fideos (noodles) help thicken the soup and make it even more substantial.

23 of 28

Roasted Kabocha with Maple Syrup and Ginger

Roasted Kabocha with Maple Syrup and Ginger — John Kernick

Cookbook author Melissa Clark likes giving slices of roasted winter squash a little wake-up, so she roasts them with maple syrup, olive oil, fresh ginger, and thyme. It’s a simple idea, but the combination of flavors highlights the squash in the best possible way.

24 of 28

Roasted Delicata Squash with Quinoa Salad

Roasted Delicata Squash with Quinoa Salad — © John Kernick

To create a terrific vegetable-based main course, chef and television personality Michael Symon tosses quinoa with arugula, apple, raisins, and fresh herbs, and then spoons the salad into a halved baked squash.

25 of 28

Maple Root Vegetable Stir-Fry with Sesame

Maple Root-Vegetable Stir-Fry with Sesame — © Con Poulos

In Korea, cooks typically create stir-fries with just one kind of vegetable — lotus root, say, or potatoes. Chef David Chang decided to break with tradition and stir-fry an assortment of vegetables, including Jerusalem artichokes and parsnips.

26 of 28

Porcini and Pecan Pâté

Porcini-and-Pecan Pâté — © Sabra Krock

Proving that vegetables can be as satisfying as meat, chef Sean Baker serves this mushroom pâté on the vegan "charcuterie" plate at his Berkeley restaurant, Gather.

27 of 28

Haricots Verts and White Beans with Shallot Vinaigrette

Haricots Verts and White Beans with Shallot Vinaigrette — © Fredrika Stjärne

At Thanksgiving, it's always great to have a couple of dishes that don't have to go in the oven. This combination of creamy white beans and slightly crunchy haricots verts makes an interesting textural mix, and it's sturdy enough to stand at room temperature for several hours.

28 of 28

Pear, Pear, Pear

Pear, Pear, Pear — © Maura McEvoy

Chef Jeremiah Tower's light, palate-cleansing triple-pear dessert calls for poached pears, pear sorbet, and a drizzle of pear syrup.

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Tell us why!

Related Articles

rainbow vegetable gratin with slice being removed

34 Phenomenal Vegetarian Recipes for Thanksgiving

Citrus-Champagne Punch for Thanksgiving Recipe Gallery

The Food & Wine Guide to Thanksgiving

Various white wine bottles and glasses

The Best Wines for Thanksgiving Dinner

Shredded parmesan brussels sprouts

Our 17 Best Brussels Sprouts Recipes for Thanksgiving

Spatchcocked Smoke Turkey

26 Thanksgiving Recipes Our Editors Make Every Year

Tarte Tatin

15 Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Desserts

Three Cheese Lasagna with Roasted Red Pepper and Mushrooms Recipe

Thanksgiving Lasagna Is So Much Better Than Turkey

Pies For All!

5 Chill-and-Fill Pie Crusts for Easy Prep

The Thanksgiving Leftovers Challenge

Thanksgiving Table Decorating

Start Thanksgiving Meal Planning a Month in Advance

Stanley Tucci; lasagna

Stanley Tucci Makes the Case for Pasta at Thanksgiving

Simple Smoked Turkey Recipe

26 Showstopping Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes

Ina Garten Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Ina Garten Has the Perfect Dish for Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey

Air-Fryer Turkey Breast

How to Cook Thanksgiving Dinner Without Turning on Your Oven

Brandy Pecan Pie

Thanksgiving Is the Best Pie Holiday

Chipotle-Spiced Smoked Turkey Legs

Give Thanks, But Make It Extra